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13 September 2016

Peace, and Thought

It's been almost two months since the release party for Homes. It was a great night, one with lots of friends crammed into my house, lots of rain, and some good wine. The next day, I had a strange feeling. One that said, 'Hey, buddy. You need to rest.'

To that voice I said, 'Hey, buddy. Shut up.'

But the feeling persisted. I knew I was coming into a time requiring rest, after producing The Dig and Homes and a few other products, and managing the family, and working, and so on. And yet there was so much more to do! Too many game ideas, too many stories to write! Then the school year began and my writing time was reduced to 0.

I kept at it. The writing time did not appear and the creative frustration grew. It's still growing. It's a real pain. And yet I'm too tired to get much of anything done. I can't wake up early enough or stay up late enough. The tiny bits of time for putting finger to key aren't enough. This blog is collecting dust, as are some of the other little projects I contribute to. There are lots of feels to deal with as well. The one thing I thought I could set aside (myself) is begging for my attention.

So I'm chilling out and attempting to take care of myself. Read stuff I want to read and play games I want to play. I'm trying to be okay with not writing every day and letting the progress ticker slow to anything but naught. It's stymieing. The Homes sequel has been percolating for a year and I feel some direction for it; I have at least two PBTA games I'm ready to make; there's a language learning card game I have in mind; Good Heart is still sleeping on the cloud, waiting for a home. In short, there are lots of things I want to finish which would require, really, a patron to give me a couple years out of the classroom.

I've got one freelance gig that needs finishing, and one other game on which I am collaborating, and hope to release by the end of the year. Other than that, I must chill and make this a restorative, monastic time. I have no mountains to escape to, ala St Antony. But there are hills to rest upon; little islands of inspiration. Good books for the eyes, metal for the ears, and all the rest.

All of that is to say that you may not see too much out of me for a little while. I hope to be cranking out updates and fiction and games real soon, but we shall see what we can see.